When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light is the seventh studio album by Finnish death-doom band Swallow the Sun.

The album deals directly with the death of Juha Raivio's partner, the singer Aleah Stanbridge.

"[2] The album has been noted for showcasing a more melodic and atmospheric sound, as well as a bigger emphasis on Mikko Kotamäki's clean vocals.

They added that "When a Shadow is Forced into the Light is an album one cannot fully appreciate in one listen", and concluded that "its many degrees of melancholy and sadness are not expressed for their own sake, but as the underside of the ravaged beauty that can only emerge in the wake of unspeakable loss and evolve as transcendence".

They praised Juha Raivio's guitar playing in particular, and asserted that "the rawness and realness of the pain behind this album leaves their previous work sounding breezily untroubled in comparison".